Children’s Activities by Karen Baicker Illustrated by Michael Strouth for me, for you, for later FirSt StePS to SPeNdiNG, SHariNG, aNd SaviNG™ Brought to you by PNC Grow Up Great in partnership with Sesame Workshop. Helping children get ready for school and life. pncgrowupgreat.com Dear Parents and Caregivers, For Me, for You, for Later: First Steps to Spending, Sharing, and Saving was created to help you and your child share experiences in developing the financial basics that will impact her now and in the future. Through the games and activities on these pages, your child will join her Sesame Street friends in making thoughtful choices; earning money; learning the value of people, things, and money; and finding out about spending, sharing, and saving. These are the building blocks that will help form a solid financial future for your child. ”, “For”, Me, forYou, for Later™”, and associated characters, trademarks, and design elements areowned by ® ”, “Sesame”, Workshop ® SesameStreet “ Sesame Workshop. ©2011 Sesame Workshop. AllRights Reserved. things we value Something that you value is important to you. Point to the item that each Sesame Street friend values. Do you have a toy or book that is important to you? What else do you value? Sesame Family Activity Give your child sheets of paper with the names of each member of your family. Let your child draw a picture of something that he thinks is special to each person. Ask questions about what different people value, and why. Draw your own picture of something your child gave you and explain: “I love the picture frame you made for me because it reminds me of you!” sesamestreet.org/save 1 elmo’s choices Elmo makes a lot of choices every day. You can help him today! As you read about Elmo’s day, talk about each thing that you think Elmo should pick and why. Repeat the day to see how many different choices there are for Elmo! 2 sesamestreet.org/save Elmo woke up bright and early today. It’s a nice, warm day outside. What should Elmo wear? Elmo is hungry. But he can’t decide what to have for breakfast! What should Elmo eat? Now Elmo is going to the playground to play with friends. Where should Elmo play? Sesame Family Activity Talk to your child about choices she makes every day. Continue to encourage her to make choices by providing opportunities. The next time you’re at a store, have your child help make a shopping choice for herself, such as choosing between two shirts to buy. sesamestreet.org/save 3 earn and save buddy walk Ernie has wanted a new ball for a long time. He is trying to earn some money to buy one. His buddy Bert wants to help him earn and save. You can help, too! Use your finger to follow the path from start to Good job, stop. When the coins change color, pause and Ernie! talk about each job the buddies do. Then count all the coins on the path! Let’s get working! Oops! Sorry, Bert! 4 sesamestreet.org/save Hold on tight, Ernie! Sigh! How many coins did Bert and Ernie earn all together? Help the Count draw coins in their savings jar. Sesame Family Activity Print out play money at sesamestreet.org/save. Play pretend store and create prices for items. Remind your child that people earn money by working hard at their jobs. Encourage him to sort and count the money his store “earns” after a busy day. sesamestreet.org/save 5 saving, spending, sharing It’s a busy day on Sesame Street. Take a close look at the ways the Sesame friends are spending and saving their money and sharing things together. * Look for friends who are saving their money. Where are they putting their money? * Point to the ways that friends are spending their money. What have they decided to spend their money on? * Find the ways that Sesame Street friends are sharing. What are they sharing? 6 sesamestreet.org/save Sesame Family Activity You can help your child set goals for three important things people do with money: saving, spending, and sharing. Together, cut out the jar labels provided in this kit. Attach each label to a clear plastic jar. What will your child do with the money she puts into each jar? Talk about how she might save, spend, and share. sesamestreet.org/save 7 share with baby bear Baby Bear wanted to cheer up his little sister, Curly Bear. What did he share with her to help her feel better? Point to the toy that you think he shared. How will they play with the toy together? Sesame Family Activity Talk with your child about ways he can share with others. This might include looking through toys, clothes, and books for items someone else could use. Give them to relatives or take them to an organization that helps people in need. You can also collect cans for a food drive or give supplies to an animal shelter. 8 sesamestreet.org/save make a saving, spending, sharing mini-book Cut out the pages of this story on the dotted lines and color them. Then fold the pages and staple in the middle to finish your mini-book. Elmo loves the teddy bear! Thank you, Cookie Monster! A Birthday Gift for Elmo 8 © Sesame Cookie Monster puts the money he earned into his savings jar. Cookie Monster wants to buy the teddy bear for Elmo. It’s the Now he has five dollars – just enough to buy the teddy bear! perfect choice. 6 3 sesamestreet.org/save 9 make a saving, spending, sharing mini-book Cut out the pages of this story on the dotted lines and color them. Then fold the pages and staple in the middle to finish your mini-book. Elmo’s birthday is coming up and Cookie Monster wants to Cookie Monster spends the money he has saved on the teddy buy him a gift. What should he spend his money on? There are bear. He is so excited to give the gift to Elmo! so many choices! 2 7 Uh-oh, Cookie Monster doesn’t have enough money saved in his Cookie Monster sets up a cookie stand to sell healthy oatmeal jar. He only has four dollars. He needs one more dollar to make cookies. It’s hard not to eat them! But he knows if he keeps five dollars. But he has an idea! He can open a cookie stand to working he can earn enough money to buy the gift for Elmo. earn money to buy a teddy bear! COOKIES 4 5 10 sesamestreet.org/save.